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Killing Bed Bugs - What Should You Know?
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- Category: News
- Published on Monday, 19 December 2011 06:49
- Written by Dick Wagner
- Hits: 884
NOTE: The following comments are excerpts from a Discussion on LinkedIn. I have removed the last names on the comments, and this is only a very small portion of the comments in that discussion. Since Bed Bugs are such a hot topic today, especially for the Mitigation and Disaster Restoration Contractor, I wanted to post this so you would have a "heads up."
I encourage you to go directly to the Discussion on LinkedIn to follow all the comments and add your own!
Here are some of those comments.........
Charles:
David Hedman of ThermaPure is suing about ten companies and individuals for infringing on his patent claiming that he has the patent for killing bed bugs with heat. I do not mention the people involved in the suit but I suspect they are well known to most of this group. So I would beware and consult a lawyer before entering into the heat treatment for bed bug killing.
The science of killing bugs with heat is solid and has had a great deal of history behind it. A patent, since expired shows how to accomplish the task. Hedman's patent is the same as the previously expired patent except that he has added the use of HEPA filters. So whatever you do, DO NOT EVEN MENTION THE TERM HEPA while using heat to kill bed bugs.
Attorney Ed Cross who is a pit bull attorney and a restoration industry friend can be found on linkedin. Ed knows Hedman and the patent game he is playing. I highly recommend a call to Ed Cross before embarking on the heat and bed bug business.
Blaine:
How can someone claim a patent on a process based on IAQ and industry standards? I guess you can get a patent on anything... I guess it COULD depend on how the term HEPA is mentioned in the patent? If I use a HEPA vacuum, is that the same as utilizing High Particulate filter vacuums? Do we really need to become wordsmiths now? What a joke!!!! I believe what you are saying Charlie but to be honest, this really makes me angry!
Charles:
Wow, there are some tough questions in your post. Let me get the easy one first. Ed Cross is a personal friend of mine and an industry friend as well. Ed has been a speaker at many conventions and seminars so he really understands our business. Blaine you should follow Ed Cross on linkedin, he has a lot to say and it is worth reading about
A little known fact that every patent is not the Polio vaccine. The paper clip and the "post it" were patented at one time. In order to violate a patent, the infringer must violate every step of the patent, and Hedman's patent is quite involved and difficult to infringe upon. However when a contingency lawyer serves you a lawsuit claiming patent infringement you must hire a lawyer and respond. Most people will seek a settlement even if the facts are in their favor. A jury trial for you is expensive and a jury verdict does not always make sense, right OJ? This is legal extortion, but it goes on every day.
I give a warning to the folks that want to kill bed bugs with heat. Get a lawyer and follow the expired patent of Charles Forbes the pioneer of the industry and the former owner of the expired patent. By the way if you know what you are doing, and have the right equipment, killing bed bugs with heat is very lucrative. If you don't know what you are doing, please do not do your on the job training in the homes of your clients.
Charles:
ThermaPure and David Hedman have sued many companies for patent and trademark infringement, those are facts. Nevertheless the patent for killing bed bugs with heat is in the public domain. That patent is patent # 4,817,329 it is simple and easy to follow and if applied correctly will kill bed bugs and the larvae. The Hedman patent is # 6,327,812 and is nothing more than a regurgitation of the former patent with the addition of HEPA filtration.
Things are not nearly as bleak as you may imagine but good legal advice would be money well spent.
Ken:
Thermapure has a new "additional" patent on heat and bedbugs. I don't have the patent number handy but will look for it and post it. If this patent survives a challenge it looks like game over in the pest control industry for any non licensed by Thermapure heat applicator.
Blaine:
VENTURA, Calif., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- As the bed bug epidemic continues to strengthen its grip on North America, ThermaPure®, (www.thermapure.com) the industry pioneer that developed the heat treatment process currently being used to effectively kill the blood-sucking pests and their eggs, has been awarded another patent from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (US 7,690,148 B2 – Hedman, issued April 6, 2010).
The patent also includes the application of silica gels as part of a ThermaPureHeat treatment as a preventive measure against bed bugs being reintroduced to the structure. The gels serve as absorbents or irritants to damage the waxy outer coating of the bugs, which are then highly susceptible to dehydration and death.
Blaine:
More info found - here is the link in case any are interested...
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=7,690,148.PN.&OS=PN/7,690,148&RS=PN/7,690,148
Charles:
Thermapure and more precisely David Hedman own two patents for additional methods of using heat to kill insects. While I am not going to debate the value of the methods that are covered, the fact remains that the patent for using heat to kill insects is in the public domain. Killing bugs with heat is now generic and anyone is free to follow the teachings of the Forbes patent and kill all the bugs they want. Hedman at one time owned that patent but it has since expired and although he would have the industry believe he invented the process and owns the patents, he does not.
Further it is a felony to represent to anyone that you own a patent when in fact you do not. To be clear the further Hedman patents add some new steps to the well researched and tested Forbes patent. If you choose to follow the complicated and frivolous additional steps of the two subsequent Hedman patents you are probably infringing on the patents. Those steps include the use of HEPA filters in the process and the addition of Silica Gel as an additional step. I assure you the Forbes patent is quite good, and best of all it is free.
The Forbes patent is # 4,817,329 and it contains all you need to know about killing insects.
This is the direct link to the LinkedIn discussion:
Additional information
